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There are many resources in Michigan for homebuyers and current homeowners. The Center for Financial
Health presents a homebuyer education program in the next video.
The Center for Financial Health is a HUD and MSHDA approved housing counseling agency delivering
a wide variety of housing and financial counseling and education services to homebuyers, homeowners
and renters.
So today you're going to experience our live class. It's a homebuyer educational workshop.
This is a class that is often required for many of the affordable financing programs
that are available, not only in the Lansing community, but across the country. And through
that workshop we go over and walk consumers through the home buying process from ensuring
that they're credit ready and emotionally ready to take on that responsibility of homeownership,
to helping them build the right home buying team from a realtor and a loan officer, inspector,
appraiser, etcetera.
...we talk about. Your scores go down every time you apply for a credit card. The reason
why your scores go down...
We talk a lot about credit, so if they're not quite credit ready in order to get a mortgage,
then we talk about the services we offer as far as prepurchase counseling.
The client came up to me right before class -- the student -- and she said, "You know,
I have my masters in finance, and I really don't feel that I need this class. Can I just
get my certificate?"
And I said, "Well, is this required by your lender?"
"Yes."
And I said, "Well, then we can't waive it. You're going to have to take the class."
And at the end of the class she pulled me over to the side and said, "Maria, I just
want to let you know that at the beginning of the class I thought I knew everything about
buying a home because I did have my masters in financing, and now I realize I knew nothing.
And I'm so glad that I took this class."
By attending a homebuyer workshop and enrolling in our homeownership club, consumers are entitled
to a free one-on-one housing counseling session.
So they come in and we look at all different aspects. They understand what their down payment
assistance, what they would qualify for based on household size and how much income is brought
in. If they don't have a lender I give them at least three lenders to choose from, and
then if they don't have a realtor, I give them at least three realtors to choose from.
Ones that know the products that I know they're going to go out and get.
And then I also build what's called a recommended action plan. So they know what they have to
do in order to get into that home that they want to be in.
For homeowners, we do offer several different strategies that help them keep their home
and maintain their home, and probably our most busy service these days is helping people
stay in their home with foreclosure prevention methods and opportunities.
So homeowners who are facing foreclosure are being bombarded by notices, not only from
their lenders, but often times from companies and sometimes scam artists who are trying
to take advantage of them at an unfortunate time.
We like to give folks advice. If you're facing foreclosure, the number one thing is communicate
with your lender. Number two, seek help from a housing counselor that most likely is going
to offer their services for free.